About a million people in the UK are now taking

prescribed statin medication. Yes, it appears that statin

medications do reduce the risk of heart attack for those

tested and found to have high cholesterol, but the sideeffects

of those statins can be hard to swallow and perhaps

the benefits have been overstated, according to the paper

and an expert at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Kent, Dr

Andrew Bamji.

Dr Bamji described how he was prescribed statins by his

own doctor and experienced severe tendon inflammation,

which ceased as soon as he stopped taking the drugs.

As a consultant in rheumatology and rehabilitation he

began noting that a number of his own patients reporting

musculoskeletal problems such as pain, stiffness and

tenderness in the muscles were on statins. When he

advised them to stop taking their medication, their

symptoms went away.

His suggestion to stop their medication may seem

reckless, but according to the Daily Mail, the protection

offered by statins is marginal and comes at a price. The

paper states that if a patient has heart disease and high

cholesterol, the chance of them dying from a heart attack

over four to six years is about 8 per cent. If they are given

a statin every day, this decreases to about 6 or 7 per cent.

Dr Bamji questions whether the misery of muscle

debilitation is a price worth paying. And now there is talk

that ALL elderly people should be prescribed statins as a

preventative - does that really make sense, either

medically for those people or financially for the National

Health Service. It is estimated that cholesterol drugs cost

the NHS between £10 and £25 per patient per month!

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Echinacea is a herb best known for its ability

to prevent and relieve cold symptoms, but to

file this herb simply as a natural immune

booster does not do it justice. Echinacea has a

wealth of additional all-year-round properties

from acne to yeast infection.

ACNE / ABCESSES : Echinacea exerts an antibacterial

effect largely due to its content of

echinacoside. This effect has been noted in

both internal and external bacterial infections.

BRONCHITIS : Inflammatory lung condition

caused by bacterial or viral infection.

Echinacea’s anti-viral and anti-bacterial

properties make an appropriate remedy. The

herb’s ability to boost the immune system may

help colds and flu from deteriorating into

chronic bronchitis.

GENERAL IMMUNITY : Echinacea provides a

broad spectrum of effects on the immune

system and appears to offer benefit for all

infectious conditions.

COMMON COLD : Echinacea has shown to

be effective against the common cold,

influenza and herpes virus, and urogenital

infections. Research has demonstrated that

Echinacea reduces severity of cold symptoms,

time between infections, and increased the

speed of recovery.

EAR INFECTIONS : It may be prudent for

children with recurrent middle ear infections

(otis media) to supplement with Echinacea

tincture daily as soon as symptoms appear

until a few days after an infection has

concluded.

SORE THROAT : Supplementation is

recommended at the onset of symptoms to

support immune function.

YEAST INFECTION : The influence of

Echinacea on improving cell mediated

immunity helps provide resistance to infection

from mould-like bacteria, parasites, fungi, and

yeast organisms such as Candida Albicans.

The research demonstrated that

BEANFREAKS

Now research from Israel and Panama shows that an elderberry preparation not only

ended cases of the flu within three days, but also increased antibody production.

IT WORKED FOR ME

Terry Jarvis, 64, was prescribed statins to

help lower his cholesterol. Reluctant to

take them, but keen to get back into

shape, Terry was determined to find a

solution that worked for him. Three

months later and even his doctor was

impressed:

“Having recently retired, my wife, Lyn,

and I were enjoying spending much of our

time in Spain.

We would leave for up to three months

at a time and each time before we left, we

paid a routine visit to our doctors to

make sure we were in good health.

However, this time the doctor wasn’t

able to give me a clean bill of health; my

cholesterol was sky high at 6.3 and

considered unhealthy.

My GP prescribed Simvastatin, and

wanted to start me on 40mg a day, but I

wasn’t keen. I was concerned about the

potential side effects.

So, I took myself off to our local health

shop and asked if there were any natural

alternatives they could recommend for

high cholesterol.

They suggested I try Policosanol, which in

tests, had been found to be just as

effective as statins.

I called my doctor to let him know I

wouldn’t be taking the statins and was

instead going to try Policosanol, and

agreed to have my cholesterol levels

checked again in three month’s time.

Well, you can imagine my delight when in

three months my doctor confirmed they

had fallen over a whole point to 5! His

initial reaction was one of ‘I told you

statins would do you good’ and was quite

amazed when I reminded him I had

decided not to take them.

I’ve been taking Policosanol for almost a

year now and I’ve not looked back. I can

wholeheartedly recommend it if you’re

looking for an alternative to statins.”

NHS advice with regard to cholesterol is

to have a level of less than 5. The UK

average for men is 5.5, while for women

it is 5.6.

But when his doctor diagnosed

osteoarthritis in his hands, Geoff

thought he might never play again.

Geoff explains:

"I've always loved music and have played

the concertina for as long as I can

remember, 20 years at least.

I play locally in a small folk band. I'm

always using my fingers, so you can

imagine my dismay when my doctor

diagnosed osteo-arthritis in my left

hand.

My fingers had become very painful; my

little finger in particular was very stiff

and swollen, which made playing very

difficult.

“I really did wonder whether I'd be able

to play either instrument again.

My doctor suggested Ibuprofen to help

reduce the swelling but I knew this

wasn't a long-term solution. My wife

asked at our local health shop and they

suggested I try a supplement for joint

health. Apparently the feedback from

other customers had been very positive.

“So I began taking an encapsulated

formula which included Boswellia,

Glucosamine and more on a daily basis. I

tried it for one month, nothing. Two

months, still nothing. I was about to

stop using it altogether when after about

ten weeks I noticed I could wiggle my

little finger, something I hadn't been able

to do since my diagnosis. I continued

with the capsules and after about three

months was back on my concertina.

“I've been taking the capsules for well

over three years now and the

movement in my hand and fingers has

more or less returned to normal, which

is fantastic given that I've just retired and

now have even more time to play!"

Natural products appropriate for the

maintenance of healthy joints are

available in-store.

In recent years the

prescription of statin

drugs to lower

cholesterol has

become

common

practice.

Unfortunately

statin drugs have a

number of side effects

This article is not intended to diagnose or treat any

health condition. Consult with your GP for advice

and if you are currently taking medication.

Headache, Muscle ache

Gas, Diarrhoea

Abdominal pain, Cramps

Joint pain, Respiratory

infection

Hawthorn has been dubbed the herb for the

‘four corners of the heart’ such is its

reputation in supporting cardiovascular health.

CoQ10 appears to modulate blood pressure

by reducing resistance to blood flow.

Several trials have reported that CoQ10

significantly reduced blood pressure in people

with hypertension, usually after 3-4 months of

treatment.

Recently, researchers found that 5-20mg daily of policosanol to be effective at

improving serum lipid profiles equal or better than simvastatin, pravastatin, lovastatin,

probucol, or acipimox.

Policosanol is believed to decrease total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein

(LDL), and increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) by inhibiting cholesterol synthesis

and increasing LDL processing.

Polcosanol is currently viewed as a viable supplement to help control cholesterol,

either alongside or in place of statin drugs.

The research, carried out by Imperial

College School of Medicine, shows how B

vitamins (including B12 and folate) modify

the amino acid homocysteine, turning it into

compounds such as cysteine and taurine,

which are needed for heart health. In this

latest study supplementation with 0.8mg

(800ug) of folic acid a day was

shown to result in a ‘3

micromolar’ reduction in

homocysteine - sufficient to reduce

risk of stroke and heart attack.

Without enough vitamin B complex,

homocysteine is now known to

present a serious problem -

causing LDL (bad cholesterol) to

be oxidised making it more

dangerous to blood vessels. This is why

many experts believe that regular

homocysteine level checks are as important

as cholesterol tests for monitoring heart

health.